The 130,000 sq ft logistics facility is the first on the site to be built by Beijing Construction Engineering Group, a joint venture partner in Airport City alongside Manchester Airports Group, Carillion and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

Units at the facility range from 17,500 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft.

Yu Dongwen, acting lead director at BCEGI, said: “As a contractor and joint venture partner we have great confidence in the development and believe it will act as a magnet for inward investment into the North West, which will bring economic benefits and employment to the region.”

Completed on time and on budget, Alpha was forward-sold during construction for £12.2m to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, which has now taken possession.

Cllr Susan Quinn, chairman of the GMPF property working croup, said: “Our infrastructure partnership with Airport City has once again delivered on our stated goal of hands-on direct investment and successful collaboration. This investment will give us the strong levels of return we seek as well as provide badly needed opportunities for international businesses and jobs for Greater Manchester.

“Many pension funds struggle to invest in infrastructure but we are leading the way and we look forward to building upon this success. We’re excited by the pipeline of potential investments.”

The construction of Alpha follows completion of Amazon’s 654,000 sq ft fulfillment centre, which became operational in November 2016, and DHL’s 37,400 sq ft facility.

Once complete, the £1bn Airport City will total five million sq ft of office space, hotels, advanced manufacturing, logistics facilities and ancillary retail.